A comedy fundraiser set to take place in Belfast City Hall will raise vital funds for a local charity to continue their work in helping marginalised communities.
Show Some Love are one of Lord Mayor of Belfast, Micky Murray's, chosen charities. Next week, they will host a special fundraiser in the grand surroundings of Belfast City Hall, with Grimes & McKee's 'New Ireland' showing in a one-off event in the banqueting hall.
The charity provides free clothing and toiletries to marginalised people via referral through charity partners, such as Extern, Flourish NI, Red Cross and Homeplus. They also run Green House, first launched in April as part of the Belfast 2024 programme, to get people to be creative, connect with their community and support local people living in hardship with all profits raised.
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After conquering Irish cultural worlds of the GAA and ‘The Troubles’, legendary duo Grimes and McKee are back in 'New Ireland', to look forward, this time taking a futuristic look at the island of Ireland.
Travel in time by looking through the unique comedic lens of Grimes and McKee (The History of The Troubles according to my Da) at how Ireland might shape-up 30 years down the line.
Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of the fundraiser, Becky Bellamy from Show Some Love said: "I have been a fan girl of Grimes and McKee for many years so it feels utterly mad to me to now consider both Conor and Alan two very dear friends. My family’s big Christmas night out was often one of their plays in the Lyric, the MAC or the Opera House.
"They were two of the very first Belfast Creatives to sign up members as members, and start to use Green House, so when they came to my partner Connor and I with this very generous fundraising idea we were pinching ourselves. We have seen the New Ireland show and I was howling with laughter throughout, I think I was possibly a distraction at one point. Conor afterwards asked me 'was that you I could hear hooting away the whole time.'
"The Lord Mayor granting us permission for this to take place in City Hall for this special one-off event, is such an honour. We desperately need the funds that this will raise, and it’s sure to sell out so people should get their tickets quick!"
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Murray said: “I am delighted that one of my favourite charities is able to use City Hall for this very fitting comedy fundraiser, which both celebrates and satirizes our beautiful city and the people who share it. We are known for our fierce sense of humour here and this play perfectly encapsulates the wit and sometimes gallows humour that makes this place so warm and unique.
"It’s additionally fitting that this event is a result of the meeting of minds between Conor (Grimes), Alan (McKee), Connor (Kerr) and Becky (Bellamy), who came together through the SHOW SOME LOVE Green House; An incredible project that was able to get off the ground thanks to the support of the Belfast 2024 cultural celebrations, which are still ongoing."
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Conor Grimes, from Grimes & McKee, said: "This place is best known for its sense of humour, and New Ireland is a special show, that perfectly reflects the idiosyncrasies of what it means to live here and share this lump of land we all call home. The show has been so well received and we thought it was a perfect tie in with the values and humour that we so often find with the SHOW SOME LOVE crew.
"To be able to hold this show in Belfast City Hall, at the invitation of the mayor, via the charity partnership Show Some Love, is very special and means a lot to Alan and I."
The event will take place on Sunday 17th November at 7pm with a drinks reception on arrival. For more information on tickets, click here.
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